XLD Setup Tutorial (Unofficial)

2013-09-09 08:15:42

This is my personal guide to configuring XLD. It has been mostly derived from a known invite-only site. I've improved on that version with updated screenshots and I've redacted some areas that were site-specific but (IMO) inapplicable to most users. This is only a guide. While I feel it represents optimal settings and instructions, feel free to make it work for you by adapting it to meet your needs.

First ensure that you're using the latest version of XLD and check for updates. (You can check this as indicated in the second illustration under "General" Preferences. The developer issues updates and improvements on a somewhat frequent basis and at no cost to the end-user. Feel free to thank him for his efforts and generosity by making a donation through PayPal.)

1. Go to Preferences. You can do this initially by following the screenshot below or hitting ⌘ ,

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7. "CD Rip" tab.

These settings are important!

-Set Ripper Mode to "XLD Secure Ripper" as this is optimal and preferable over CD Paranoia IMHO and IME.-"Use C2 Error Pointers…" …don't bother IMO. We can argue about it later but I've never gotten a bad rip with this setting off. -Do not just set your Read samples offset correction value to mine in the below illustration! XLD should be able to read your drive's Read sample offset correction value automatically. Click the black triangle next to the field to display your drive(s). Alternatively you can look up your drive in the AccurateRip drive offset database here.. Matshita brand drives (commonly used by Apple and found in MacBook Pros) are listed as Panasonic in the AR database. Normally XLD can find your drive's offset, so this step is most often unnecessary.-If your drive's read offset is correct, then XLD will try to search the AccurateRip database to verify the integrity of your rip by comparing it to the rips of other people. See Accuraterip's website for more information. -Drive Speed Control--set to Automatic-Do not check the "Treat AccurateRip mismatch as an inconsistency in log" box.-Always save a log file and cue.-Verify suspicious sectors should absolutely be checked-I enable and recommend Test before copy (as illustrated below.) You may alternatively choose to check "only when the track does not exist in AR database." This could save some wear & tear on your drive. (I've never had a drive go kaputt on me before I moved on to another but YMMV.) No argument from me and your rips will take about half as long if the disc is in the AR db. Your call.-Check the Scan ReplayGain box. ReplayGain should be enabled here whether you use it or not. XLD will include peak level information in the ripping log. This is used to help differentiate the different pressings of discs. You will only be adding useful information to your logs so I highly recommend it.

8. "CD Burn" tab.

Here's mine below. YMMV. If it is important to you to burn a CD from your rips that matches the exact offset of the retail disc then you must calculate the correct "Write samples offset" and enter the value.

9. Now that you've properly (IMO) configured XLD you can save your settings and set up profiles. To set up profiles find the "Profile" dropdown in the XLD menu bar at the top right. (See the first illustration.) Saving profiles is especially useful for saving transcoding confguration settings. For example: you may want to save your rip settings as "FLAC" in your profile manager. Underneath those settings you may want to save preconfigured profiles for, say, your MP3 V0 transcodes or AAC at iTunes Plus settings. Have fun with that. It makes for fast and convenient switching for all your needs.

In the future, and if requested, I may be posting a Part 2 to this tutorial that covers Ripping. My thanks to the original author at the "other site" who did all of the heavy lifting there. I updated, redacted, and mostly reworded his original work from which I learned. In a few instances I straight up plagiarized a few lines as I couldn't have said it better myself. This took several hours of my personal time so please don't be a jerk. I am trying to help others who've requested this and to make a positive contribution here at HA. A lot of people come here looking for help and/or an XLD user guide that doesn't exist. Your constructive criticism and input is, however, appreciated. If you find inconsistencies or things that you feel are in need of correction please leave them in the comments and perhaps we can get a mod to correct them in the future.

XLD Setup Tutorial (Unofficial)

I don't have access to a Mac. I really like what i see here. Easy to configure and a nice set of options.One question about that nifty option "Test before copy". If you select "Only whén the track does not exist in AR database" and it doesn't match, does it perform a second read of that track by default then?

Is troll-adiposity coming from feederism?With 24bit music you can listen to silence much louder!

XLD Setup Tutorial (Unofficial)

...If you select "Only whén the track does not exist in AR database" and it doesn't match, does it perform a second read of that track by default then?

Yes. I believe that if the track doesn't match / isn't found in the AR db (or can not be offset-corrected to match) XLD will perform the second read. If I recall correctly from previous my past Windows usage this is similar to how dBpowerAMP works.

XLD Setup Tutorial (Unofficial)

Yes. I believe that if the track doesn't match / isn't found in the AR db (or can not be offset-corrected to match) XLD will perform the second read. If I recall correctly from previous my past Windows usage this is similar to how dBpowerAMP works.

Thanks, if so i see the "Always" option a bit overkill.

Is troll-adiposity coming from feederism?With 24bit music you can listen to silence much louder!

XLD Setup Tutorial (Unofficial)

I see your point. I can amend the wiki to better express that this is fairly seen as unnecessary by many.

While I'm in the wiki entry I should just drop some of the personal wording so that it isn't seen as a one-man project. Anyone should feel free to get in there and make constructive additions and refinements for the benefit of the community and Googlers who inevitably wind up here looking for help.

XLD Setup Tutorial (Unofficial)

It's kind of strange that such good software like XLD comes with so less native help, faq or support. Although I rather like the developer to spend his time coding as opposed to write a manual of course. Nevertheless, this application holds so many functions (mostly under the hood) that are essential for digitalizing your music collection and most people don't bother with digging deeper and will just continue to rip their stuff with WMP or iTunes. But after reading your tutorial you really have no excuse not to use XLD, so you finally understand what you're doing and in the meantime avoiding to re-do the whole process again someday because you noticed that your music library is a giant mess and the audio lacks quality.

XLD Setup Tutorial (Unofficial)

I'm glad it was helpful for you. The developer is very active with updates, and I've contributed nothing financially to TMKK's efforts, so I thought I'd contribute somehow. I really just got it started but now it belongs to the HA community's wiki to update and maintain. If you find things that can be improved upon or updated please feel free to contribute.